An Iran-linked hacker group has claimed to breach the FBI’s surveillance drones and threatened to target the World Cup that opened this week.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist and state-linked threat networks, published a statement from the group Handala saying it had enjoyed access “for months” to “every image and every suspect” captured by the first-person view, or FPV, drones the FBI has been using. The hackers said the drones were equipped with facial recognition and license-plate screening deployed for counterterrorism.

The statement carried a thinly veiled threat aimed at the tournament. Handala warned organizers to tighten World Cup security, said it disliked some of the competing teams, and cautioned that an FPV drone could end up “right in your team’s bus.”

Much of the group’s proof, however, appears to be fabricated. Handala posted photos and footage it said were lifted from the hacked drones, but SITE disputed that claim, noting that one video had in fact been produced by a software company in December 2024 to promote a US police department’s use of its technology to survey tornado damage.

The claim lands as the FBI ramps up aerial security around the tournament. The bureau has been deploying drones around World Cup stadiums to guard against unauthorized aircraft, and drone flights are being banned over US stadiums hosting matches as well as over related fan events.

Handala is no ordinary hacktivist outfit. Western analysts and US officials assess it to be a front for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and the Justice Department has described it as a fictitious identity the ministry uses for influence operations and psychological scaremongering. US prosecutors have formally accused the intelligence ministry of operating the group.

Its activity has surged during the current conflict. Since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in February, Handala has escalated its operations, most notably claiming a destructive wiper attack on the medical-technology firm Stryker that wiped tens of thousands of employee devices, and publishing the personal details of people it said were Israeli soldiers and defense contractors.  After the FBI seized several of the group’s websites, they quickly resurfaced on new domains. The FBI has warned that Handala has been targeting opponents of the Iranian regime since 2023.

The group has reached high into the US government before. It claimed in March to have hacked the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and published personal photos and other material online. A Justice Department representative confirmed to one outlet that Patel’s email had been breached and that the leaked material appeared authentic. The State Department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information identifying the group’s members.

US authorities had already braced for this kind of activity. The Justice Department previously warned of potential Iranian cyberattacks in the wake of the war, and cybersecurity researchers had flagged Handala among the threat actors of greatest concern heading into the 2026 World Cup.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)